Finally here.

The second leg of last nights flight saw us all packed into a jet like sardines. It was a full flight, and lucky me, I had a middle seat. We were delayed because the flight was short two stewardesses but the airline eventually scrounged two passable substitutes up and we were off just a bit late. Since I was at least in an exit row, Our new replacement cabin lady gave us all a briefing on the emergency exit: 

"That card in front of you tells you how to open the exit door in an emergency. Please read it and familiarize yourself with it, but don't touch it unless we tell you to, and we're not gonna tell you to."

Then the plane began to taxi, and immediately, a toddler a few rows ahead began crying and screaming for his mommy. That's just what we all needed, right there. And it quickly became apparent that this was going to be an issue for a while as it looked like "mommy" was seated up front in the better-than-you seats while her darling child was in the care of some other woman back in cattle class with the rest of us. The stewardess took the kid up front a couple of times briefly but always brought it back again, where the screaming commenced anew. Real set of lungs on that kid, lemme tell ya.

It finally stopped about half an hour into the flight. I'm guessing that the kid either cried himself out and went to sleep or else someone sitting closer smothered him to death. Either way, it was long overdue and a welcome change.

Finally got to my destination, and took an airport shuttle into the city. It was also filled to capacity, and one of the other passengers was the World's Loudest Asian Dude on a cellphone. I was up front behind the driver and this guy was in the very rear of the bus but his shouting into his phone in Chinese or North Korean or whatever language that he was gwabbling away in pretty much kept any of the rest of us from talking or relaxing. Finally I asked the driver if the rest of us could pitch in a few bucks to get him to put Hong Kong Phooey and his phone out on the side of the highway. He said that he couldn't do that. Sigh.

But I'm here now. Had dinner and went walk-about, then got a good night's sleep. Now it's morning, the sun is out, and I'm going for a run along the Mississippi River before breakfast.